Chinese Orange Chicken made with crispy fried chicken covered in an authentic orange sauce. The ultimate Chinese Orange Chicken Recipe which is way better than take-out.
My kids are always begging me to take them to grab Chinese food. They are obsessed with orange chicken but I am never really sure what’s in it….especially if they get it from a drive-thru. I wanted to create a version at home, made from scratch, with all-natural ingredients. It still has the same incredible flavor they love. It’s definitely a win-win in our home.
It is wintertime in Arizona which means that the citrus is ripe for the picking. I am surrounded by neighbors who have a plethora of fresh oranges and lemons hanging from their trees. This is the perfect time of year to whip up orange and lemon dishes especially this Chinese Orange Chicken.
This Chinese Orange Chicken is made with boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces, dredged, and then fried until golden and crispy. The orange sauce is divine! It is a sweet orange sauce made with orange juice, vinegar, garlic, sugar, soy sauce, ginger, red chili flakes, and orange zest. It is both sweet and spicy and full of flavor.
How to make Chinese Orange Chicken at home:
- Start with boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs. Cut into bite-size pieces. Dredge the chicken in whisked eggs and cornstarch/flour mixture until nice and coated. Get these chicken pieces ready for the oil.
- To make your homemade orange sauce, place orange juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and red chili flakes in a small pot and cook over medium-high heat. Add cornstarch and water and cook until thickened. Stir in orange zest.
- Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. When frying foods, it is so helpful to use a thermometer. Let the oil heat up to 350 degrees. Once the oil is ready, in batches, cook chicken for about 2 minutes until light golden brown. Repeat with remaining chicken.
- Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Toss fried chicken with the sweet orange sauce. Top with grated orange zest and green onions. Serve immediately.
- 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts cut into bite-size pieces
- 3 Eggs whisked
- 1/3 cup Cornstarch
- 1/3 cup Flour
- Oil for frying
-
- 1 cup Orange Juice
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar or White Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce use tamari for a gluten-free dish
- 1/4 teaspoon Ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder or 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
- 1/2 teaspoon Red Chili Flakes
- Orange Zest from 1 orange
- 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
-
- Green Onions
- Orange Zest
- To make orange sauce:
- In a medium pot, add orange juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and red chili flakes. Heat for 3 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 Tablespoons of water to form a paste. Add to orange sauce and whisk together. Continue to cook for 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to thicken. Once the sauce is thickened, remove from heat and add orange zest.
- To make chicken:
- Place flour and cornstarch in a shallow dish or pie plate. Add a pinch of salt. Stir.
- Whisk eggs in shallow dish.
- Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture and then flour mixture. Place on plate.
- Heat 2 -3 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Using a thermometer, watch for it to reach 350 degrees.
- Working in batches, cook several chicken pieces at a time. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes, turning often until golden brown. Place chicken on a paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat.
- Toss chicken with orange sauce. You may reserve some of the sauce to place on rice. Serve it with a sprinkling of green onion and orange zest, if so desired.
This Orange Chicken is going to make you forget take-out. Let me know how it turns out by reaching out on instagram at @modern_honey. Have a great night, my friends!
I don’t usually leave comments on recipes but I just had to say this is one of the best chicken I have ever tasted in my life. Will definitely do it more times!
it’s not bad but that orange really comes through,, idk if it’s the juice or zest or combination but you can rlly taste the orange
We all have different tastes, next time try not using the zest. Others have found that to reduce the over orange taste.
This was delicious! I liked that the sauce wasn’t overpowering. I loved how crispy the chicken was after cooking – I am guessing it was the cornstarch? Thanks for a very easy to follow – AND YUMMY – recipe!
Yup, cornstarch will get some crispyness. If you love more crisp consider double frying. Fry half the time, remove and cool. Then fry one more time for the other half of the time. OHHH LALA
Delicious. This orange chicken recipe is better than any frozen, homemade, chain or Chinese takeout I have eaten. For personal preferences, I doubled the pepper flakes and fresh ginger and increased the orange zest by half. Used peanut oil for its heating characteristics. The family loved it. A definite keeper. Thank you Melissa!
What’s the serving size? thanks
This recipe is AMAZING! The sauce has a really nice, bright orange flavor and isn’t overpoweringly sweet.
I usually don’t leave reviews on recipes, but this recipe is a highly requested family favorite so I had to! 10/10!!!
I was looking for the serving #. It doesn’t say on the recipe. Since there are 4 chicken breast would that be 8 servings?
The thing I want.
Did anyone answer the servings question ?
I have a family of 6 and it fed us all with some left-overs!
I love how you can really taste the orange in the sauce. This is my new favorite chicken recipe of all time.
I have already prepared my ingredients. I have a couple of errands to run and then come back home and make this. Thank you so much Melissa. I love this idea, and what a great dinner. My boys love Orange Chicken.
You’re The Best, and Thank you so much.
I never leave reviews but this was so delicious I have to, I didn’t need to change a thing. 10/10
My husband and I loved
this recipe.
He even posted a picture to our friends which was a great compliment to me.
Do you use ground ginger?
I oven fried my chicken to avoid the frying in oil. Since I made a small amount of chicken I cut the orange sauce in half, but found that too skimpy on the sauce for my preference. I used fresh garlic, fresh ginger and followed the recipe Enjoyed the flavors and will make again.
WOW!! Best orange chicken ever! Added too much ginger , just made it better I’ll be back for more recipes
Good recipe thank you! Very delicious with tofu.
Outstanding and easy. Made this as written using boneless/skinless chicken thighs and freshly squeezed oranges, except added a little more red pepper flakes. (My husband is a spicy guy!) Served it with my version of veggie fried rice and some baby bok choy. My husband, who claims not to like chicken devoured this.
Is there anyway to make this soy free? And gluten free?
Instead of soy sauce tamiri is recommended to make it gluten free or you could maybe try liquid aminos that tends to be a soy free alternative
I would guess the request is in regards to the flour in the coating/breading. Not all GF flour is suitable or ideal for frying. I myself have yet to find one that works well.
Tapioca starch, Bob’s Red Mill GF all purpose flour, and GF bisquick work, but depending on how strict the diet needs to be (sensitivity vs celiacs) you’ll want to make sure proper precautions are taken.
I’m trying this recipe tonight but I’ve successfully fried chicken like this using King Arthur’s one for one gluten free flour.
This is ORANGE ORANGE chicken. I didn’t read the comments before making it so I was very surprised by just how bold the orange flavor of the sauce is but I LOVE it! Orange chicken is not my flavor of choice when I go to American-style Chinese restaurants because to me it’s just sweet chicken, orange flavor not really there. But I love just how orangey this tastes. I used fresh juice and the zest and yum yum yum. My parents enjoyed it as well. If I cook this recipe for my friends I may have to reduce or omit the zest since they like the more typical orange chicken taste. Either way this is a great recipe. Will be using again.
Nice
This was fantastic but of course I did a couple tiny things different. I used fresh ginger – about 2-3 teaspoons grated. I reduced the sugar to 5 TBSP and it was very well balanced. I don’t like overly sweet Chinese food. But the orange flavor is so fresh and bright in this recipe. It’s not gloopy and dull like most restaurant versions. I’ll be making this a lot more.
We discovered this recipe last year, and we make it frequently. We don’t always make the chicken part, but the sauce is outstanding. For example, I had some leftovers from last week – a broccoli, sweet potato, and chicken dish – that needed some new life, so I made the sauce again last night. YUMMY! Thank you!
Just delicious! I used 3 organic chicken breasts, rice vinegar, and an unknown quantity of soy sauce as the bottle slipped in my hand while pouring—oops! I loved the amount or orange juice and zest as written. I served with Caribbean rice but will try it next time with plain rice for less competition in flavoring. We ate it for 2 nights and my husband went back for seconds each night. Success!
Orange chicken is my boyfriends favorite, so when I made this, I doubled the recipe and between him and I and the two boys all that was left was just enough for him to take in his lunch the next day. He absolutely loved it. I do think that next time, (and there will be many more) I might cut down on the chile flakes but just a little. It was great for him and I but if you have anyone with a sensitive tongue, it might be a bit spicy. Unless I dumped more in than I meant to. Oh and we used tempura to coat the chicken…5 stars for sure.
Very good. I doubled the sauce ingredients but only used 1/3 cup of sugar total. My oranges were sweet so 1/3 cup was plenty., Used the zest and did not think it was too orange at all. Made basmati rice, topped it with steamed broccoli, then added the chicken then poured sauce over the whole thing.
This was a very good recipe, but I will reduce the orange zest next time. It was a bit overwhelming and made the sauce a bit too tangy and bitter for me. My fiancé agreed, but still loved it!